Pa. woman indicted in Dover shooting death

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger Jade Ransom appeared in Morristown Superior Court on Jan. 30.

A 20-year-old Pennsylvania woman was indicted today in the shooting death of a man in Dover.

Jade Michele Ransom is charged with murder for allegedly gunning down Jesus Dimas Rodriguez Marques, 23, on East Blackwell Street in January.

Ransom said the victim had attacked her from behind with a gun, which she said went off as they struggled.

View of the alley by 63 East Blackwell Street in Dover taken on Jan. 28, where the shooting took place. The area of exposed wall is where bullets were removed. The victim then stumbled into the sidewalk of East Blackwell Street.

But witness accounts and forensic evidence contradicted her story, authorities said. Ransom's fingerprints were found on the gun, and the bullet's trajectory indicated the weapon was fired at a downward angle, authorities said.

She was found at the scene hiding under a pickup truck. A .38-caliber handgun had been discarded in a nearby alley.

Marques had lived in Dover for two years. He worked as a builder and house painter.

Ransom, of Allentown, Pa., was living with her grandmother in Morris Township at the time of the murder. She also is charged with hindering her apprehension and weapons offenses.